Libyan ‘Unity Govt’ Sneaks Into Tripoli, Spurned by Locals

Faction Is Third Would-Be Government in Complex Situation

Further complicating Libya’s status as an ungovernable desert full of warring factions, the UN-backed “unity government,” which was established in January, has finally managed to sneak into Libya, landing in the capital of Tripoli and setting up shop at a naval base.

The “unity government” was the result of tentative agreements between the two existing Libyan governments, though both ultimately rejected the unity cabinet, and the group was quickly relegated to third-place status among governments with little real control.

Local officials blasted the “infiltration” of this new faction into the capital, but the group managed to get to a naval base, and is now one of three governments, two of which are officially “UN-backed,” and which don’t like one another.

The US loudly endorsed the arrival of this new government, and condemned the other governments as “obstructionists” for opposing the group, which itself was formed in Tunis with neither elections nor any real imprimatur from the Libyan people.

The only real backing this new government has, beyond the UN itself, is that many NATO nations believe they can parlay a “unity government” into an endorsement to invade Libya, while the UN is dangling the possibility of freeing the nation’s massive sovereign wealth fund from sanctions if the unity government is in charge of it.